Closed Office

Man does it ever look difficult. I'm quite comfortable with bike repairs and rebuilding bikes from parts, but this has me baffled. It's just a 7 speed Shimano on a cheap bike, $250 new about 2 years ago.

I'm worried about even taking it apart with the spring loaded parts. I checked youtube videos and didn't find anything with detail.

Any hints or comments that might help? Is it one of those things that can be done? Or do people just buy a new shifter with the cable installed, and change that?

The knobbed end of the cable is blocked and you can't just pull it out and thread the new cable in the same place like you can with down tube shifters, or most brake cables.

Andrew R Stewart 

IME the most diffecult thing about replacing cables on those levers is getting the cover off. The little screws like to get corroded in place and the small loop of plastic under the screw head will crack easily if the unit ever took a hit.

One tip to know is that the cable head snaps into place and when removing them often won't just get pushed out with out prying the end up a touch at the same time.

While the cover is off drip some thick oil onto the ratchet pawls and the spool. And lube the cover screws too. Andy.

bobotech

Why can't you jsut push the cable and cable end out of the ratcheting assembly as shown in the picture you posted? You already have the cover off, just push the cable out and grasp it with a needle nose pliers if you need to.

Looks like a very simple issue.

You are NOT going to be taking anything apart like springs or parts.

dsbrantjr

A sharp tool like a dental pick is useful to lift the head out of the recess it snaps into. Make very sure that the shifter is in the gear position which results in the the cable being fully slack before you attempt to remove it.

Retro Grouch 

Think about where you are working too and how you are going to find one of those tiny screws after you drop it on the floor. A drop cloth or something similar might be a good idea.

Closed Office

As I mentioned:

It seems like we are working with different shifter systems. There isn't room to get the knob out from the place it is resting in. It might be difficult to understand from the single photo. Maybe mine is from left over low end parts before the type of system you are talking about was developed.

I do have to take things apart to be able to pull it out.

This one doesn't actually snap into place. It is slightly loose and has wiggle room. It is just blocked from moving much.

pierce

whats the PN on that shifter ? you should be able to find the instructions on shimano's tech site. https://techdocs.shimano.com/techdocs/index.jsp


for instance, here's a SL-M748...
https://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830606059.pdf

or a SL-EF50,
https://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830750024.pdf


looks like on a lot of them, you need to be sure you're in the right index position before you can install the cable.

vredstein

You can't just push the cable head straight out. In my pic, the circled part shows a wall where the cable end will just butt up against. The cable head has to be lifted up to clear the wall. This can be hard because that first half cm of cable from the the end is completely enclosed in a tunnel. You have to use a very thin and sharp tool to get under the barrel of the cable and lift out. Sometimes this means using the black plastic walls surrounding the barrel as a lever point. But you have to be careful not to crack the plastic walls of the shifter mech that surround the barrel.
It helps of you push inward on the cable as you lift it out. This way, the barrel won't just snap back into the cradle of your tool slips off.

pierce

what if you shift it into a different gear first?

m.rivas

I'll second what 'pierce' said.

I've only worked on road shifters, and with those, you have to be on 1st or last(can't remember) gear to get the cable out. Have you tried that?

bobotech

Seems like a non-issue.

Ironically, today I removed the shifter cable from a Shimano shifter that I think is the same one that the OP has. I am converting my mountain bike to drop bars with STI shifters and needed the cables. I took the cover off and sure enough, the end of the cable was slightly enclosed. Took all of about 5 seconds to pry it up a bit and push it out. I used the pointy end of a steak knife. It was what I had handy.

Not really a big deal.

Andrew R Stewart 

For the pointy tool just use the time proven LBS one, a sharpened spoke. Bend a loop at one end and sharpen on a fine grit grinder (or sand paper) the other end. Andy.